Attorney given probation for making false reports about ex-girlfriend

An attorney was sentenced to one year of probation this morning for making false reports to law enforcement following a dispute with his ex-girlfriend in 2011.

Daniel Hargrove was charged following an incident at his home in Shaler on Oct. 4, 2011.

He called 911 reporting that the woman, Jill Cueni-Cohen, was outside his home and he feared for his safety. After officers responded and met up with Ms. Cueni-Cohen at a park a few miles away, Mr. Hargrove called 911 back and said she was continuing to send messages, and that they were "escalating."

Officers with the woman, though, said she had not sent nor received any text messages within their presence over a 40-minute period.

Mr. Hargrove was found guilty by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman during a bench trial.

Ms. Cueni-Cohen, who is a freelancer for the Post-Gazette, told the judge she feared for her safety and said she believed Mr. Hargrove's threatening behavior would continue.

"Unless he is adequately penalized, he will do so again," she said in her victim impact statement.

But Mr. Hargrove told the judge he was embarrassed to be before him and that he had never threatened the woman he previously dated.

"She wouldn't sign a prenuptial agreement, and things fell apart," Mr. Hargrove said. "I don't know where she came up with any of this."